A “Horny” Blessing . . ?
This is a story that is hard to organize. Where to begin? It reaches back forty
years from this writing and has never left my consciousness for long, but was
brought into sharp focus just last week.
I was speaking to an old acquaintance
named Lynette. When I last saw her she was a cute young thing, who eventually
became an airline stewardess. We had not spoken in almost forty years. I had
sent her Dad some recordings to cheer him up in his advanced stages of
Parkinson’s Disease. She just happened to be there when I called.
Like me, she had, as a kid, attended
The Salvation Army’s Central music Institute at Camp Lake, Wisconsin. In my time
the greatest names in brass band and Christian music history were guest faculty
there. I speak of such as Erik Leidzen, Eric Ball, Ray Steadman-Allen, Phil
Catelinet, Dean Goffin and many more. However, Lynette did not recount any of
these great musicians to me on the phone. The single event that jumped into her
memory was a kid named Vic in 1965. The guest in 1965 was the redoubtable
Bernard Adams, Bandmaster of The Salvation Army International Staff Band. But
she did not recall that, she only remembered an event involving a 19 year old
boy named Vic.
As it happens, Vic was and is a dear
friend of mine. He played in a Salvation Army Corps band of which I was
Bandmaster, The Northern Illinois Youth Band (which I also directed) and in The
Chicago Staff Band of which I was principal euphonium.
That year as CMI just got started, I
encountered Vic on one of the trails at camp. He seemed a bit downcast as I
asked “How are you?” When I didn’t get his usual upbeat and ebullient response,
I said: “Perhaps you need to go to the altar” (meaning to “go forward” in church
and be forgiven.) Now this is a most unusual response for me to have given to
anyone, and especially to Vic, who was a most circumspect and righteous youth. I
thought no more of it.
Vic was a pupil, really disciple, of
the great Howard Chesham – arguably the greatest alto horn player in history.
Howy was on the faculty at the camp. Vic had worked like a slave for months to
be the best alto horn student at the camp. He had worked hard to save for a
Salvation Army made alto horn, which was the best obtainable then and the model
that Chesham used.
The first Sunday came and Colonel
Adams preached on the real meaning of Salvation Army music, especially band
music. That meaning was crystal clear in Colonel Adams’ own ministry with the
international Staff Band – “The Salvation message behind the words portrayed in
the music.” He made it clear that if our motivation was anything else, we were
just playing hollow notes. Vic listened. Vic heard.
The week passed, not uneventfully. We
in the Faculty Band played the new masterpiece by Ray Steadman-Allen, The Holy
War, among many other things.
When the last Sunday arrived and we
were in chapel, Vic was noticeably upset during the call for Salvation. One of
the Officers, Ed Johnson, came to Vic and asked if he could help. Vic demurred.
Then, all of a sudden, Vic burst from
his seat and bolted out of the chapel, causing quite a stir. He ran across camp
to get his prized Salvation Army alto horn. He burst back into the chapel and
ran down the isle to the Penitent Form where he laid his most prized possession
on God’s altar and gave it up to The Lord. He prayed to The Lord to take his
horn and if he never played another note, that would be fine.
Well, Vic played many thousands more
of great notes and to this day remains one of the most faith-filled Christians I
have ever seen. He has had an authentic ministry over these long decades that
has influenced many young people for God. I witnessed that event at camp and the
consequent testimony of one of God’s saints over these forty years and more.
That this simple act of consecration
would be the single event recalled by another among us all those years ago,
Lynette, should not surprise anyone. I know for a fact that Bernie Adams would
be thrilled to be eclipsed by such an event, as would Leidzen, Ball, Goffin,
Steadman-Allen, Catelinet and all the rest. It is what Salvation Army music is
all about, and what CMI was all about.
Thank you Vic! God bless you!
EXCELSIOR!
Bob Getz